Monterey Clipper
Original Watercolor 15" x 22"
by Bill Hudson
With Custom Frame.................$1,550
As our half-day fishing boat left Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg, CA, I caught this rare sighting...an original, double-ended Monterey Clipper. In 1930, there were over 500 of these classic small vessels working from San Francisco alone.
Discretion
by Bill Hudson
Years ago, as an aerospace chief engineer, I had some hard lessons learned—particularly in the art of technical communication. When holding staff meetings with my lead engineers, I found it far more important to convey the bare, un-biased truth and risk hurt feelings than sugar-coat facts and risk misunderstanding. The message had to be crystal clear leaving no room for personal misinterpretations. We were all working to achieve the same goals.
Now, I’m an old, retired engineer and artist, with no responsibility to solve complex technical challenges. And I’ve learned to be much more compassionate toward the feelings of others.
For example, two weeks ago, my entire family left for what has become our annual camping trip to Cuyamaca (ref
November 2021: Camping in Cuyamaca). Ellie and I, our kids and grandkids were leaving to sleep in tents, in the woods, cooking on campfires while looking up through pine trees into dark night skies filled with the wonder of a thousand shining stars.
Normally I drive, but early that Friday morning I had my monthly medical infusion. So. Ellie announced she would drive us, which included my daughter and grandkids. Here is our subsequent conversation.
Bill: Ellie, I don’t like having to tell you this, but you need to know. Your driving lately is making some passengers sick. You’re constantly hitting the gas, then backing off. Val and Liam have come close to barfing. And even little Henry is starting to complain. So, how about if I give you a secret codeword to make you aware. While you’re driving, I’ll say something with the word “bluebirds” in it.
Ellie (hard of hearing): “Blueberries?”
Bill: No El…. “Bluebirds!”
Ellie: Well, let me tell you something. Your driving scares me to death. You wait till the last minute to hit the brakes.
Bill: OK, OK dear. I’ll try to do better. Maybe you should have your own code word.
Ellie: Yeah. How about this one, “Holy s__t. We’re all gonna die!”
As you can see, Ellie is now the “chief engineer” of our family. She’s sugar-coating nothin’.
